
Class _o__l 

Book.. l-j . 



Copyright N°. 



,^oS 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



By the Same Author 

Fresh Fields and Legends 
Old and New 

Crown 8vo. Illustrated. $1.25 net 



Mayflowers to 
Mistletoe 

A Year with the r lower rolK 

Bv 

Sarah J. Day 

Second Edition 
Illustrated bv 

Zulma de L. Steele 



0. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
New York and London 
Gbe fmfcfcerbocfter iPress 

1909 






Copyright, 1900 

BY 

SARAH J. DAY 
Copyright, 1909 

BY 
SARAH J. DAY 



Ubc Ifcnicfccrbockcr press, IRcw ^otfi 



LI3RARY of CONGRESS 
Twn Cooies Received 

JUN I 18ua 

Copynunl Entry — , 

H* 5. '^ 

tLAGS /A XXc No. 




]N all those walks through garden, wood, and field 
Wherein my much delight is, I have found 
The flowers my choicest comrades ; and around 
The sprightly ways and wiles they ne'er concealed 
From me, assured of my sympathies, 
Fancy has woven the gentle histories 
Herein, for those who love such lore, revealed. 



Contents 

PAGE 

Prelude — Spring 3 

Hepatica 5 

Mayflowers 6 

Wake-Robin 7 

Crocus 8 

Ground Pink 9 

Tulips io 

Daffodil 12 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit 13 

May- Apples 15 

Horse-Chestnut 16 

Wistaria 17 

Dandelion 18 

Spring-Beauties 19 

Violet 20 

Columbine 21 

Houstonias 22 

The Pansy Bed 23 

Squirrel-Corn 24 

Apple Blossoms 25 

Interlude — Early Summer 27 

Buttercups 29 



vi Contents 

PAGE 

Lady's-Slipper 30 

Periwinkle 31 

FORGET-ME-NoT 32 

Wood Betony 34 

Mountain-Laurel ...... 35 

Daisies and Iris ...... 36 

Clover 37 

Herb-Robert 38 

Sweet peas 40 

Arethusa 41 

Pyrola 4 2 

Wild Rose 43 

Blue-Eyed Grass 44 

Cinque-Foil and Strawberry ... 45 

Jewel-Weed 47 

St. John's-Wort 48 

Interlude — Late Summer 5 1 

Wild Carrot 53 

Garden Lilies 54 

Tiger Lilies 5 6 

Yellow Star-Grass 57 

Morning-Glory 58 

Butter-and-Eggs 59 

Indian-Pipe 60 

Robin and Charlie 62 

Water-Lily 63 

Hollyhock 64 

Seaweed 65 

Sunflower 67 



Contents 



VII 



PAGE 

Great Willow-Herb 69 

Trumpet-Flower 71 

Betty and Susan 72 

Clematis 73 

Interlude — Autumn 75 

Cardinal-Flower 77 

Brunella 78 

Marshmallow 79 

Nasturtiums 81 

Closed Gentians 82 

Solomon's Seal 83 

Asters and Golden Rod .... 84 

Milkweed 85 

Cat-Tails 86 

Thistle 87 

Walking Fern 89 

Sea Lavender 91 

Legend of the Leaves 92 

Voyage oe the Seeds 94 

Mullein Towers -95 

Interlude — Winter 97 

Bittersweet 99 

Cyclamen 100 

Legends oe the Orange Tree . . .101 

Yellow Jessamine 103 

Hymn of the Palm-Tree . . . .104 

California Poppies 107 

Baby Blue Eyes 109 

Holly no 



Vlll 



Contents 



PAGE 

Cherokee Rose nx 

Mistletoe 112 

Everlasting 113 

Postlude 115 



a H>ear witb tbe jflower folk 




preli^e — Spring 

PROPHECIES stirring the wood, 

Presciences felt in the air, 
Then vague misgivings and chilling mood ; 

When suddenly, everywhere 
There 's a mist of green on the trees, 

Soft skies over us, birds a-wing, 

Flowers at the wood's edge blossoming, 
And all in a moment, one feels and sees 

About him the marvel and rapture of spring. 




Ibepatica 

/^NE frosty day in March I strayed 
^^^ Along a woodland path I knew, 
And there I met a little maid 
With shyest, starry eyes of blue. 

Her ample cloak was lined with fur, 
Her grey-green tippet furry too ; 

" The wind is cold," I said to her ; 
Said she, " It may be, sir, forjww." 



/IDa^flowers 

TN their last year's leaves cradled as if on the arm 

Of their granddame, beneath the dry fir 
And pine needles, the Mayflowers wake rosy and 
warm, 
Cuddling close as they sleepily stir. 

For the ground is still frosty, the air is still bleak, 
And a granddame' s fond kindness well known ; 

So they press very softly her withered brown cheek 
'Gainst the pink and white down of their own. 



1iaafee*1Robm 

"\lU r AKE, robin, wake ! the spring is here, 

Behold the signal given: 
My petals fair in threes I bear, 
Three ways their golden star 's aflare, 
Thrice is my broad leaf riven. 

Wake, robin, wake! and sing us cheer, 

Freed from our long subjection ; 
The cold earth spread above our head, 
They mourned for us as for the dead, 
Sing thou our resurrection. 

Wake, robin, wake! no need to fear 

Dull skies or snows hereafter ; 
The covering clods we bravely break 
To greet the sun ; wake, robin, wake ! 
And voice the triple sign I make — 

Life, loveliness, and laughter. 



Crocus 

HTHK Crocus had slept in his little round house 

So soundly the whole winter through ; 
There came a tap-tapping, — 't was Spring at the 
door : 
" Up ! up ! we are waiting for you ! " 

The Crocus peeped out from his little brown house 

And nodded his gay little head ; 
" Good-morning, Miss Snowdrop ! and how do 
you do 

This fine, chilly morning ? " he said. 



©round flMnft 

\ 17 HERE lately lay the snow 

Young Spring doth blithely go, 
Her garments wafting sweet perfume. 

And lo, 
There springeth bloom 
Amid the grass, 
Soon as her rosy foot doth pass. 

In glowing tints of red, 

Where chanced that she did tread, 

These tender tufts through wood and hill 

Are spread ; 
And, lingering still, 
The fragrance sweet 
Her lovely presence left in its retreat. 



Uulips 

*T HRONGING through the mellow mould, 
When the frost has loosed its hold, 

Tiny Sheiks of haughty mien 
Stand in Orient pomp and sheen, 

Bringing from their lord the Sun 
Tidings of his course begun ; 

Telling of his royal pleasure 
Toward us soon his steps to measure. 

Richly stiff the robes of state 
Swathed about their forms elate, 

Gorgeously the turbaned heads 
Glow with mingled golds and reds. 

From of old they know their worth, 
These proud blooms of Eastern birth ; 



Uulips 

Know their sires were often sold 
Far above their weight in gold ; 

Know — and who shall check their pride — 
Princes oft for them have vied. 

Fitting heralds these to bring 
Greetings from the Sun their King ! 



BaffoMl 

pv AFFYDOWNDILXY.the maid in the garden, 
The child at the wicket is looking for you. 
Bare are the meadows, unbudded the thicket, 

April still mingles the clouds with her blue ; 

Come to us, Daffodil, golden and true ! 

Daffydowndilly, I mind an old legend — 
Was it your brother Narcissus, or you, 

Loved but himself and had ne'er loved another, 
Adroop o'er the river his image to view ? 
Must we, fair Daffodil, search there for you ? 

Nay, our gay Daffydowndill}'' advancing — 

The truant — with dancing, ne'er languishing 
knew ; 
Dwells but in gardens, and makes them entranc- 
ing, 
Sunnily smiling and nodding at you, 
Whole-hearted Daffodil, merry and true ! 



3acfe=in=tbe=fl>ulptt 

O AID Jack the Parson, " Firstly, 

Dear brethren, I aver ' ' 
(As yet 't was early April 

And few the flowers astir) 
' ' That Promptness is a virtue 
I 'd fain on you confer. 

" But, secondly," he added, 
" Lest frowardness beguile," 

(A sudden, biting snow-squall 
Had swept the forest aisle), 

" Upon the claims of Prudence 
'T were well to pause awhile. 

" Then, thirdly,"— from his pulpit 

He peered (on every side, 
Upsprung at last, the blossoms 
13 



J 4 Jac^in^tbe^lPulptt 

In gayest colours vied), — 
" I feel that I must warn you 
Against the sin of Pride. 

" And, lastly, Praise is comely 
And you may well desire ' ' 

(For now the woods were vocal 
Through chancel, nave, and spire) 

" To have my discourse ended 
And listen to the choir." 



T F you scan the wooded open 

Where some western hill-road crawls, 
You will spy the green umbrellas 
Of the apple-women's stalls. 

In a colony they cluster ; 

Peep beneath the spreading flaps, — 
If you see the little women 

Nodding, in their snowy caps, 

You will know that you are early, 

Not yet open is the stand ; 
Come in two months' time — you '11 find them 

With a stock of fruit on hand. 



15 



lborse*Cbestnut 

QNOWS gone and winter over — 

How is it that we see 
Amid the bees and clover 
A mammoth Christmas tree ? 

Its great cone-tapers thickly 
Are set from bough to bough 

All straight and white, as quickly 
To be enkindled now. 

Soon will the bees discover 
They may not lighted be, 

And rifle — Christmas over, 
Snows gone — the idle tree. 



t6 



TKatstarfa 

A WEB of green with purple blooms 

Betasselled, drapes my arbour's frame 
Like some rare product of the looms 
In the rich East from whence it came. 

From arch to arch its folds are flung, 
From prop to prop its clusters droop ; 

And, as at princely portals hung, 

Whence lovely pageants soon shall troop, 

Its stirring wafts sweet odours through ; 

And then it seems that one might swing 
The shimmering green and pendulous blue 

Apart, and view the hosts of Spring. 



17 



Dattoelion 

"T" IS " youth for war" O hearts of gold, 

And early ye the fields assail, 
Encamped in squadrons, warriors bold, 
Resolved for Spring the land to hold, 
Each crouched upon his lion's mail. 

" Old men for counsel,'" — so we find 

In Summer's senate halls ye stand 
In thronging groups of stately kind, 
Each snowy head to head inclined 
And wafting wisdom o'er the land. 



Sprin^Beauties 

DRETTY maidens, white and pink, 
Blithely arm in arm they link, 
Swaying to a measure slow, 
Where the zephyrs softliest blow 

'Neath the budding forest tree ; 

Such a dainty company, 

Young and flushed and fair to see ! 

But the pink and white will pale, 
White and pink were ever frail — 

Scarcely worth the gathering ; 

E'er the vanishing of spring 
Beauty will have ceased to be 
In that faded company 
'Neath the full-leaved forest tree. 



19 



IDiolet 

O H Y little nun of the wood, 
Kneeling apart at prayer 
Hid in the folds of your purple hood, — 
How do I know you are there ? 

Straight to your low green cell 
The odour of incense leads ; 

And softly I step, for I know full well 
Sister Violet 's telling her beads. 



20 



Columbine 

(^ OLUMBINE is dancing, 

^ Lithesome, blithesome maid, 

Where the sun is glancing 

Through the wood's new shade, 
On her rocky ledges, 
Lilting at their edges 
In a pose entrancing, 
Gayly unafraid. 

Columbine's arraying 

Bordered is with bells, 
Softly round her swaying 
Their many-clappered cells 
Coral-hued and golden ; 
As the mimes of olden 
Times she were essaying 
Danced with Punchinells. 



Iboustonias * 

(bluets) 

T_JALF a dozen Quaker ladies, 

Straight and slim and small, 
In a sunny Berkshire meadow 
By a low stone wall : 

1 ' Is thee come to yearly meeting ? ' ' 
"Yea." "And thee, too?" "Yea." 

" Verily, and thee is early ! " 
" Opens next First Day." 

And, in truth, the next May Sabbath 

All that meadow fair 
Scarce could hold the yearly meeting 

Set for session there ; 

In their little grey-blue bonnets 

Chatting, brim to brim, 
Half a million Quaker ladies, 

Straight and small and slim. 

* Reprinted from Youth's Companion. 
22 



O AID a little yellow Pansy to a Pansy big and 
^ black : 

' ' They have put so many of us in this bed 
That my toes are getting cramped, there 's a sad 
crick in my back, 

And I really have n't room to turn my head." 

Said the Pansy big and black to the yellow Pansy 
small : 
" Don't fret ; I see young Alice coming out ; 
She will take some of us home with her and that 
will give us all 
A chance to stretch ourselves and look about." 



23 



SqufrreUGorn 

(bleeding-heart) 

T T AVE you seen the small coquette 
In the hollow of the wood, 

With the hearts in order set 
All along the slender rood 

Piercing through her wigwam's net ? 
There they dangle, trophy-wise, 
Done to death by her bright eyes, 

Tender hearts, a-quiver yet. 

Like the scalp-locks of a chief 
One by one she hangs them there 

High above the lace-like leaf 
Of her tent-flap. So beware 

Lest you too may come to grief ! 

From a savage race she 's sprung, 

Many a heart will yet be hung 
At her wigwam — have a care ! 



24 



Bpple Blossoms 

D OSY clouds upon the trees 
^ Resting, scatter to the breeze, 
To the breeze and o'er the ground, 
Petalled snowflakes soft and round. 
And the new grass murmurs low 
" Warm and fragrant is the snow." 

When that rosy cloud is gone, 
Melted by the nearing sun, 
All the branches feel bereft 
Knowing not their treasure left. 
But the swelling fruit germs know 
Whence their birth nor vain the snow. 

Thus, with all things, these assever 
" Beauty fruitless fadeth never." 



25 




ffnterlufce — JEarh? Summer 

CRHSHNESvS and sweetness 
Of j'outhful completeness, 

Of life at its prime, 
Adorn this newcomer, 
The jocund young Summer, 

And we, in his time, 
Such days and such hours 
Know, afield with the flowers, 

As 't were well to the chime 
Of fair music to fashion 

En woven in rhyme. 



27 



Buttercups 

HTHE Buttercups with shining face 
* Smile brightly as I pass; 
They seem to lighten all the place 
Like sunshine in the grass. 

And though not glad nor gay was I 
When first they came in view, 

I find when I have passed them by 
That I am smiling too. 



29 



Xa&£'s*5lfpper 

(MOCCASIN-FI.OWER) 

\17HEN the fairy Cinderellas, 

Tripping it before their Queen, 
Startled by the stroke of midnight, 

Fled in haste the moonlit scene, 
They their gold and broidered slippers 

Left behind them on the green. 

Straightway then the elfin pages, 

Sent to clear with care away, 
Gathering all the scattered slippers, 

Hang them up in neat array 
Just within the shadowed woodland, 

' ' Where they grow, ' ' dull mortals say. 



30 



jpertwtnfcle 

[ Y pretty Perry Winkle 

Wears a glossy coat and new, 
And he has a merry twinkle 
In his sunny eyes of blue. 



M" 



He runs about my garden 

With his wild and winning ways ; 
Not a " By your leave " or " Pardon," 

When across my beds he strays ; 

So, wherever I may turn me, 
I have learned without surprise 

To meet the merry twinkle 
Of my Perry Winkle's eyes. 



31 



3forGet>flDe*Bot 

A TINY flower with candid eye 

Blue and unshadowed as the sky- 
Looks shyly at the passer-by 

In moist and lowly spot ; 

As though to say, " Too dim and small 
To go with you to bower or hall, 
I ask a passing glance, that 's all. 
And yet — forget me not ! 

" Remember, friend, the joy you took 
That day you found me by the brook 
I love to fringe with blue — your book 
Slipped down and was forgot. 

" You wrote a letter, then, andslaid 
My blooms between — in ambuscade — 
32 



3for0et>/lDe*mot 33 

So gently I was unafraid 

And travelled far I wot. 

1 ' You know the eyes that next I met 
Their glad surprise I '11 not forget. 
Thenceforth my place as amulet 
Their owner did allot, 

' ' Until we both returned : one day 
"Within your hands again I lay 
And heard two voices softly say, 
1 You did forget me not! ' " 



"JKHoot> 3Beton£ 

T^EL/Iv me, O thou fellow-lover 

Of the flowers, canst thou discover 
As do I, upon this stalk 
Which to eyes less fond than ours 
Seems to bear but common flowers, 
Certain woodland traits and features 
Tokening quite other creatures. 

Here a beak and here an eye, 
Here an eager neck awry 

Thrusting forth as if for food, 
How they crowd and crane together 

All the callow, yellow brood ! 
Soft ! the wise will mock my words, 
But canst thou resolve me whether 
These are fledgling blooms or blossom birds? 



34 



ZlDountain^Xaurel 

" DRING me now those rosy lanterns, 

Let them be in clusters set 
' Gainst the dark wall of the woodland, 
Where its shades are thickest met ; 
Are they fashioned well and duly — 
Beaten work in boss and fret ? 
Starry angles measured truly ? — 
Master- workman 's clever yet ! 
Out of rosy wax and snow 
He has shaped the dainty things ; 
Light them now, that they may glow 
Softly on our fairy rings 
When to-night the Feast of Lanterns — 
Hist — a mortal ! swift — to wings ! " 

Thus I overheard the mountain fays 
Chatting softly in the mid-June days 
Where I loitered 'neath the glossy bays. 



35 



daisies ant> flds 

\UITH their bright faces tied in their tidy 
white caps 
The Daisies went trooping to school, 
When they spied a young Iris who cried out : 
" Perhaps 
You will help me get out of this pool ! 
For I fear I shall find it too cool. ' ' 

" Now, Iris, we learned but a few days ago," 

The Daisies replied with regret, 
" That your great-great-grandame was a rainbow 
and so 

You ought to be fond of the wet ; 

Besides, it is foolish to fret." 

Then the Daisies trooped cheerily on in the sun 

While the Iris drew back in the shade; 
She let the cold stream 'gainst her green gar- 
ments run, 
And she tossed her blue plumes as she said, 
" Just to think that a Daisy can't wade ! " 
36 



Clover 

A LUI^ABY 

(^ LOVER, Clover, rosy rover 

Creeping all the meadow over, 
When I see thee shyly peeping 
Through the grass, amidst thy leaping 
Insect playmates, whilst there hover 
Bees anear thee, pink-cheeked Clover, — 
Then my gentle fancies claim me 
" Baby of the flowers " to name thee. 

Sunshine loving, romping baby, 
Round about the meadow creeping, 
Just above the grass blades peeping,— 
Do the shades of evening stay thee ? 
Do I see thee nodding, may be ? 
'T is our baby's time for sleeping, 
And the Katydids croon over 
Lullabys for her and Clover. 



37 



f>erb*1Robert 

(robin du bois) 

" LTOW is it, shrinking herb, that thou 
Art named for Robin Hood, 
The boldest knave that e'er I trow 
Went roystering through a wood ? ' ' 

" An he went roystering through the wood 
In merry days agone, 
'T was I beside the way who stood 
And looked him upon. 

' I looked daily him upon 

And watched him draw the bow 
And speed the dart, with Little John 
And many a good fellow; 

' ' So when my Robin Good fellow 
Went gayly faring by, 

38 



1bert>*1Robert 39 

I 'd raise my sling of seeds and throw 
A valiant cast and high, 

A valiant cast, so swift and high 

That he must note my deeds ; 
And joy! one day he did me spy 

And cried, ' Oho, the weeds 

1 Are archers, too, the doughty weeds ! ' 

Thus loudly laughed he. 
' Now mark the little sling of seeds 

In sooth it shameth me ! 

' For my crossbow it shameth me ' ; 

He stooped him where he stood, 
' Wilt comrade mine and namesake be, 

Small Robin of the Wood ? '" 



Sweet peas 

A TROOP of gay butterflies lighted one day 
On a vine, and when, rested at last, 
They spread their bright wings and would fain 
be away 
Its tendrils, they found, held them fast. 

So they hung there and swung there and grew so 
content 
With their life of retirement and ease, 
That, were they set free now, I think they 'd 
consent 
To stay and be always — Sweet Peas. 



40 



Hretbusa 

A RETHUSA in the marshes, 

Thither fled from rash pursuing, 
Flushing, trembling, in suspense 
I^est I seek and drag her thence, 
Finds her beauty her undoing. 
Where 's the Alpheus would lose a 
Prize so fair as Arethusa ? 

Ah, but Arethusa pleadeth : 

' ' I had thought that unmolested 

In this poor bog Fate would spare me ; 

Mortal, seek not thence to bear me "— 
And my hand falls back arrested ; 

'T were an ill thing to refuse a 

Helpless maid like Arethusa. 



41 



T FIND thee by the forest lake 
Pyrola, primly holding 
Thy wand of bells, 
Whose waxen cells 
Too coyly stiff appear to shake 
A rondel forth 
In morning mirth, 
Scarce bold enough for tolling 
An angelus at eventide 
Along the glade and waterside. 

But ah, when midnight's witching hour 
Is come, thy chimes will tinkle ! 
Then fairy bands 
With linked hands 
Their maddest measures thro' thy bower 
Weave in and out 
With song and shout 
While stars and fireflies twinkle, 
Art still demure and mak'st no sign? 
Thy leaves with joy's betrayal shine ! 
42 



Mtu> TRose 

QHY is she, this pink-cheeked maiden 
^ Peeping through the hedge, 
And I hesitate, flower laden, 
At the highway's edge. 

Should I seek to draw her near me, 

Grasp her robes of green, — 
She would fear me, she would spear me 

With her prickles keen. 

So I pass, content this fleeting 

Glimpse of her to see, 
And to breathe her fragrant greeting 

Wafted after me. 



43 



Blue*Esefc Grass 

'"TELL me what it is you guard beside the 
stream, 

Little Argus with the hundred azure eyes ? 
For their mild and wistful blue doth scarcely seem 

To be challenging the passer, dragon-wise. 

Yet their watch, like that of old, knows no re- 
pose; 
If, outwearied through a long day's sunny 
space, 
Here and there a tender lid should droop and 
close, 
Straight another, freshly oped, will take its 
place. 



44 



Ginque=3foil anfc Strawberry 

OTRAWBKRRY Blossom lived up on the hill, 
While the Cinque-foils, her cousins, 
Who numbered some dozens, 
Dwelt, much more obscurely, below by the mill. 

Contrasts were many : the Cinque-foils, though 
poor, 

Were five-leaved ; she, triple ; 

And when as a cripple 
They feigned to regard her, 't was hard to endure. 

Snow-white my lady's fair face ; but what use, 

When a golfing Cinque-fellow 

Said : ' ' Sun-browned or yellow 
Complexions alone were the up-to-date hues " ? 

Fierce grew the feud, now of " runners " a jibe, 
Now of " sepal," now " petal," 

45 



46 Ginque^jfotl ant> Strawberry 

Till straightway to settle 
The whole, spake the Rose, lovely Queen of their 
tribe : 

" Goodly ye both are in flower, leaf, and root ; 
But our sister a cherry- 
Red, spicy-sweet berry 

Possesseth to boot: 

Be ye judged by your fruit." 



(TOUCH-ME-NOT— SADIES' -EARDROPS) 

f"** OlyDEN charms and eardrops, 

Pendulous and frail, 
Flecked with rich enamel- work — 

Are these gems for sale, 
Clustered where the shadows lurk 

Along the streamlet's trail ? 

Nay, by common purchase 

Never yet were bought 
Ornaments of gold like these, 

Delicately wrought ; 
Touch them, and their transient grace, 

Fading, leaves you naught. 

But, though none such jewels 

In her ear may wear, 
Though you pass and touch them not, 

You may, henceforth, bear 
Ownership in this far spot 

And all the treasure there. 
47 



St. Sobn's^Mort 

Y\ /ITCH and goblin, elf and sprite, 

Prick and prowl Midsummer's Night. 
Venture forth, they '11 plague ye sore, 

With their pricks and pranks assail ye ; 
Stay within and bar the door, 
Bolts and bars will not avail ye. 
Elf and goblin, witch and sprite, 
Mischief mean, this magic night. 

Only one thing will avail : 
There 's a plant whereat they quail ; 
Gold of flower and green of leaf, 

Sacred to St. John, they fear it, 
On your lintels bind a sheaf, 

They will not, to-night, anear it. 
For its golden stars have might 
48 



St. Sobn's^ort 49 

'Gainst each goblin, elf, and sprite, 
In the Saint's name, born this night. 

Mark it well, this herb of power — 

Blade of leaf and edge of flower 

Show in dusky scars old pricks, 

Thickly set, of some malicious 

Elf, who, working vengeful tricks, 

Stabbed it through with art capricious ; 

For they hate it, herb of might, 

Witch and goblin, elf and sprite, 

Planning pranks Midsummer Night. 
3 





flntcrlufcc — Xatc Summer 

A FULLER glow, 
A richer strain 
Of life than fills the bounding vein 
Of youth, these later days 

Of summer know. 
The heavy-headed grain 

Upon its stalks 
In ripeness sways ; 

The flowers their stateliest show 
Along the garden walks 
And in the fields maintain. 
So fervidly has burned 

The harvest sun, 
'T were slow discerned 
His goal is reached and turned, 
His backward course begun. 
For all this warmth and colour mock the thought 
That life thus at its fullest e'er could wane. 



51 



TKHilfc Carrot 

(MY LADY'S LACE) 

D ADIANT sunshine everywhere ! 

Now you '11 find my Lady's laces 
Spread like frostwork, filmy fair, 
Over fields and open spaces 

For the sun to bleach and whiten 
As all lore housewifely pledges. 
Each web wrought with daintiest care, 
See the tiny mesh-dots brighten 
Into wee blooms at its edges ! 
And the central symbol dark — 
Ah, that is my Lady's mark, 
As her own the weaves attesting ; 
Thus (vain hope !) those thieves arresting 
Who might well, a store of laces 
Scattered temptingly in reach 
All about the fields and places 
Where the August sun shall bleach, 
Think no harm to be molesting ! 

53 



(Barren Xllies 

A STATELY row of maidens tall 

Within my garden stood; 
And bowed their snowy foreheads all 
In gentle sisterhood. 

And often as I loitered near, 
In joy of their pure grace, 

Strains of a chant I seemed to hear, 
That breathed about the place. 

Perhaps their fragrance memories bore 

Of censers, gem-enwrought ; 
Perhaps their place in sacred lore 

Was lurking in my thought ; 

Howe'er it was, before my band 
Of choristers in white, 

I loved, at eventime, to stand 
And give my fancy flight, 
54 



(Sar&en Xilies 55 

Till, like a row of beings blest, 

They seemed above me bent, 
And all grew peace within my breast, 

And comfort and content. 



TTiger Xilies 

'"T'HERE were flames within the wood, 
As we rode that summer day ; 
Burning spots and flecks of fire 
On the slopes beside the way, — 
Showing here and there like blood 
'Gainst the sober green and grey 
Of the brake and tangled brier. 

And each tongue of scarlet flame 
Was a lily's heart of fire 

Burning out in love and hate — 
Smouldering hate and hot desire. 
Dew or shower may never tame 
That fierce hectic nor abate 
Its consuming, till, too late, 
With the flame the flower expire. 



56 



fellow 5tar>Grass 

Y\ 7B watched at night the falling stars ; 

And when, at dawn of day, 
Along the meadow thick besprent, 
These flecks of radiance lay, 

We scarce could think they had not come 
From out those shining showers, 

To flicker, yet unquenched, unspent, 
Stars in the grass, not flowers. 



57 



A PASSION for athletic sports 

Once seized upon the flowers ; 
In twining, climbing, balancing, 
They spent the summer hours. 

The nimble Morning-glory 
Had soon outstripped them all, 

He climbed his trellis twice as fast 
As Ivy climbed his wall ; 

And in the early morning 

When he felt most fresh and fair 

Would swing a hundred clubs and bells 
At one time in the air ! 



58 



Butter^anfcsEaGS 

/^\UT upon the highway, in the August heat, 
Many country lassies one is like to meet, 
Bearing on their shoulders curious crocks and 

kegs 
Filled and brimming over with butter and with 

eggs. 

Groups of half a dozen stoutly trudge along, 
Balancing their burdens, standing straight and 

strong, 
On their way to market, Millies, Molls, and Megs, 
" Who will buy our butter ? Who will buy our 

eggs?" 



59 



1FnMan=lIMpe 

(GHOST-PLANT) 

/""\NK comes, at times, in some recess 

Of dimmest woodland bowers, 
Upon a group in ghostly dress, 
All mystery and loneliness, 

More Phantoms they than flowers. 

Close clustering, as they were cold, 
They glimmer through the gloom, 

In cowl and robe of straightest fold, 

As if new risen from the mold 
Of some long-perished bloom. 

What are they, novice nuns at prayer, 
With foreheads meekly bowed ? 

Flower-spirits, formed of snow and air ? 

Flower-saints, for judgment waiting there 
Each folded in her shroud ? 
60 



1JnMan=fl>fpe 61 

Whate'er they are, disturb them not ; 

Theirs is the woodland right 
To stand, unstained, in that still spot, — 
A single touch would leave a blot 

Upon their fleckless white. 



IRobtn anfc Gbarlfe 

\~\ 7 HO so mild and good as Creeping Charlie, 

Playing gently in his garden-bed ? 
When across the hedge in sudden parley 
Ragged Robin thrusts his tousled head. 

" Hi, you house-plant! ain't you alius wishin' 
You could join us other fellows some ? 

Here 's Joe Pye and I are goin' fishin' 

Down to Spatterdock's — d' ye want to come ? " 

If the yellow head was sagely shaken 
At the tousled red one, saw not I ; 
But I know the course / would have taken 
. Had Rob asked me jogging staidly by. 



62 



"CAIR little ship with a hundred sails 

Spread abroad o'er your cargo of gold, 
One would think you had come from the isles of 
the East, 
Because of the spices you hold ! 

But you rock here at anchor from morning to 
night, 

With a fleet of green skiffs in your wake, 
And I see the long cables by which you draw up 

Your spices and gold from the lake. 



63 



Ibollpbocfc 

'"THE stately Lady Hollyhock 

Has graced my garden-bed for years, 
Sedately stiffened in a frock 
All frills and ruffles to her ears ; 
For at the fashions one may mock 
When one is born a Hollyhock. 

Her gay companions creep and twine, 

And riot in the summer breeze ; 
But she doth haughtily decline 
To join in common sports like these ; 
Such indecorum needs must shock 
A well-bred, well-starched Hollyhock. 

" Our family pride will not permit 

That we should bend or sway or sprawl ; 
We never care to loll nor sit ; 
One posture — the erect — is all 
Befitting our patrician stock." 
So spake my Lady Hollyhock. 
64 



Seaweed 

'"FHERE are gardens in the sea, 
Everywhere, 
More freshly fair 
Than any nurtured here by you or me. 
And along their rocky tiers 
Draped with growths of countless years, 
Lovely mermaids, gold of hair, 
Like our maids for coquetry, 

For a maiden's hopes and fears, 

Lightly float and flirt with gay mer-cavaliers. 

Every branch and leaf and stem 
Of these bowers 
Transcending ours, 
Glows translucently with colour like a gem ; 
And their fruits are bladder toys 
For the sportive small mer-boys. 
65 



66 Seaweed 

And the tide with dreamy powers 
All those langurous lengths of stem 
Ever ceaselessly deploys 
Out and in with rhvthmic swing and sway 

and poise. 



Sunflower 

r^LYTIE loved the sun, they tell us,— 

Him they called the young Apollo — 
Stood and gazed and gazed, in Hellas, 

Where he climbed the sky's vast hollow, 
Turning east and west, with zealous 

Eyes, intent his course to follow. 

So it was not strange, that, going 
Forth to seek the lovelorn starer, 

They should find her rooted, growing, 
Nor from off the place could tear her, 

And departed, inly knowing 
That a busy world could spare her. 

Oft in some old garden spy we, 
Even now, a tall descendant 
Of the old-time crazy Clytie, 
67 



68 Sunflower 

Gazing at the orb resplendent 
Known no more as Phoebus mighty. 

From her sun-browned face (lest, pendant, 

They should check her ardent staring) 
She has pushed the tresses yellow, 

Till they form a halo flaring. 

'T is an old tale — if despairing 
Hearts for Clyde's plight grow mellow, 

Pray reflect how very wearing 

'T was for Phcebus too, poor fellow ! 



(Breat WtUovMberb 

(FirEweEd) 

A 1 /HERE once gloomy forests enshrouded the 

land, 
Phoenix-like, sprung from their ashes, ye stand, 

Ye royal-hued blossoms and tall ; 
Stand in fair companies, stately and bright, 
On the slopes of the mountain and flush it with 
light, 
While ye point to the light over all. 

To the light far above and beyond the dim place 
That was meted for you at the mountain's broad 
base, 
Pointing steadily on and above ; 
1 ' Stay not, press on, ' ' ye command as I pass, 
" Not thine the lot of the flower or the grass, 
The highest was set for thy love." 
69 



70 Great WtllovMberb 

And the blooms slowly flicker and fade up your 

spires 
Iyike sparks, yet unquenched, from those long-ago 
fires 
Once blighting the fields ye have blessed. 
Till the last knop and flower shall have flamed 

forth and died 
While the pearly-pink embers still pointing abide, 
l4ght my feet, fair flower-lamps, to their Rest. 



Urumpet=jflower 

" A SCARLET trumpet lined with gold 
Must surely merry music hold." 

This thought occurred to Humming-Bird 
As here aud there he poised and whirred ; 

Till, thrilling with desire to know 
If he this monstrous horn could blow, 

He darted near, — then nearer still, 
And, thrusting deep his slender bill, 

He drew from out the trumpet's throat — 
But turned to honey — its sweet note. 



7i 



3Bett£ anfc Susan 

OOUNCING Betty loitered idly 
On the dusty road to town ; 
Black-eyed Susan, trim and tidy, 
Chid her for her tattered gown : 

" See how soiled it is and faded ! 

Creep beneath the bars, my friend, 
In this field 't is clean and shaded, 

And your frock I '11 help you mend." 

Kindly Susan's plan refusing, 

Careless Betty made reply : 
" Oh, 't is vastly more amusing 

Here to watch the passers-by ! " 



72 



Clematis 

A N August night ; our neighbour late 
In coming from the distant town 
Called out while passing by our gate, 
" The Milky Way has drifted down." 

Whereat we laughed incredulous. 

" Come, then," said he, " and prove me true," 
And in the warm dusk showed to us 

What held his dreamy poet's view. 

It lay along the pasture bars 

And softly glimmered through the gloom, 
A mass of undistinguished stars 

A Milky Way in truth, — of bloom. 



73 




Ml 



IFnterlufce — autumn 

'■: A 

HEN a monarch would make abdication, 
He robes him in splendour, 
And summons the peers of the nation 
Their homage to render. 
So the queen of the earth, 
Stepping down from her throne, 
With gorgeous apparel 
Is clothed upon ; 

And the way that she goes 
Is with crimson and gold overhung; 
And royal with purple 
The flowers ever loyal 
She passes among. 
Never fairer the scene 
Of her reign than when now she departs 

Through the splendour and glow 
Of a beauty whose joy in our hearts 
Is the legacy left by our queen. 



75 



TN the marsh beyond the willows they have lit 
the ruddy torches 
That proclaim the Autumn's coming — budded 
brands that bloom in fire ; 
And the trees take up the signal flaming forth in 
gold and scarlet, 
And a silence wakes the humming of the mes- 
sage on the wire. 

'T is the pause of golden days before the scene 
shall be dismantled, 
A still carnival of colour ere the winter fasts 
austere ; 
And these glowing brands — the voyageurs of 
old, perchance more aptly, 
Named them ' ' Cardinals " ; no duller robe may 
speak the blessing here. 



77 



JBrunella 

(heal-au,) 

T^RUE, Doctor Brunella is awkward, 

His clothing is always awry, 
He fails to attract much attention, 
Because he is short and is shy. 

But he who to slight him refuses 
Finds delicate charm in his face ; 

And his fame as a healer of bruises 
Is dear to our poor, stumbling race. 



78 



flDarsbmallow 

T PAUSED with foot uncertain 
Upon the marsh's brink ; 
A flower its petal curtain 

Of lovely roseate pink 
Was spreading just beyond my hand ;- 

Ah, would I sink — 
Or could I stand ? 

"Why lavish here such splendour, 
O Mallow ? Why this sheen 

Of silken stuffs in tender 
Emboss of rose and green ? 

Thus sumptuously a bog to grace ! 
To look a queen 

And brook this place ! ' ' 

1 ' And shouldst thou bear me thither, 
O Mortal, robes like these 
79 



8o ZlDarsbmallow 

Of mine would crease and wither, 
My velvet prove but frieze ; 

None of us may but in her sphere 
Achieve to please, 

So leave me here. ' ' 



IBasturtiums 

T 7 ROUPS of tiny warriors, 
Bound for conquest all, 
From their green encampment 
Start to scale my wall. 

Great round shields they brandish 

In their valiant hold ; 
Gay their curving helmets, 

Copper, bronze, and gold. 

Swiftly moving upward, 

Grasping anything; 
See the bright-hued squadrons 

Sway and climb and cling ! 



Closed Gentian 

T"\AME Nature must have lisped one day 
To these closed buds some secret fair, 
Then given earnest charge that they 

Should keep her council with all care ; 
For, ever since, they seem to say, 

Through pursed-up lips — each purple bell- 
" Whate'er we hold of rich and rare, 

We '11 never tell, no, never tell ! " 

And when I see this Momus-band 

Erectly grouped — a finger-tip, 
As from a green, encircling hand 

Laid lightly on each tight-closed lip, — 
I 'd fain their caution understand. 

Yet if, some day, a weary bell 
Should yawn and let the secret slip 

Where I o'erheard, I 'd serve them well, 

And never tell, no, never tell. 



82 



Solomon's Seal 

T KNOW he wears a dangling row 
Of yellow bells and dusky balls 
All up and down his slender vest. 
And once I thought that what he calls 
His Seal hung there among the rest. 
But when I sought to find it so 

I met a gesture of rebuff, 
As who should say, "Oh yes, they're real, 

And pretty little charms enough, 
But none of them The Seal ! " 

O wary little Solomon ! 

Whenever documents of state, 
Or cases you have passed upon 

Your final signature await, 
(As " Gentian versus Campion" 
Or "Judgment in the Buds' Debate" 

I fancy 't is at dead of night, 
No fussy clerklings at your heel, 

That by the fireflies' flickering light, 
You raise, and set, The Seal. 
83 



ftbe asters anfc tbe (5olfcen*1Ro& 

D IGHT wealthy is the Golden-rod, 

A very Croesus he ; 
The widowed, weeping Asters came 
To crave his charity. 

He gave them each a piece of gold, 
Yellow and round and bright ; 

They clasped it in their purple robes, 
And beamed their deep delight. 

Then Golden-rod with stately nod 
And glowing features cried, 

" Come every fall, and with you all 
My gold will I divide ! ' ' 



84 



TV/l ASTER Milkweed keeps a dairy 

By the river side, 
And above project his airy 
Storerooms, arched and wide. 

Here he stores his creamy cheeses 

Soft and smooth as silk, 
Thinks he '11 find them when he pleases, - 

But this magic milk 

Some fine day will change to fairies 

Who, on gauzy wing, 
Flying far, will start new dairies 

For another spring. 



85 



TLbc ©rfain of tbe Cattails 

'"THE Cat-tails were holding their annual con- 
vention 

Of all local clubs, and they rustled and purred 
Of" heredity," " tendencies," " degeneration," 

And similar themes — far too puzzling to word ; — 

Till one slender Tail of pronounced peccadilloes 
Spoke thus : " Madame Chairman, I 've found 
out one thing — 
Cat-tails are evolved from the small Pussy Wil- 
lows 
That lived round this swamp in the long-ago 
spring ! " 



86 



XTbfstle 

\17HAT stabs and stings, what barbed spite 
Against a friendly human hand ! 
This stiffly bristling armament 
Of hate, 't is hard to understand. 
For on that prickly tower alight 
The little finches soft of plume ; 

The burly bee belligerent 
Rifles, unchecked, its purple bloom ; 
Here rest the weary butterflies, 

And fearless preen their fragile wings ; 
While man, the mighty one, the wise, 
Alone is driven off with stings. 

Yet brave the heart that grants the weak 

And small its succour, shelters song, 
Shares of its sweetness, will not wreak 
Its petulance, itself defend 

87 



88 Ubistle 

Save only 'gainst the wise and strong ! 
'T is such I 'd choose to have as friend. 
So when within my field I see 

The browsing cattle calmly crop 
Those armoured leaves repulsing me 
I feel aggrieved that Thistletop 
Must needs so misanthropic be. 



Ube Walking tfern 

(a study in identity) 

' ' T F plants should try to walk about 

The Royal Fern surmised. 
" Confusion would result, no doubt, 
Else why were roots devised ? " 

Whereat a listener by her side 
With sudden zest did burn : 

" I '11 put it to the test," he cried, 
"I '11 be a walking fern ! " 

Then forth he stretched a slender foot 
And took a step with care ; 

I/), where its tip but touched a root 
Struck down and held him there. 

Again he started — zealous wight — 

And up the cliff would go, 
But tread as softly as he might, 

New roots were sure to grow. 



9 o Ube IKilalfeinQ jfem 

And when with many a weary stop 
And start, with head that swam 

But heart still stout he reached the top 
And shouted " Here I am," 

A voice from far below replied 

" Nay, here you are," and " Here," 

"Nay, here " all up the cliff's green side 
Came voices. Smit with fear 

He peers beneath. A chain of ferns 
Marks out the pathway where 

He climbed and he in each discerns 
Himself still rooted there. 

" Now woe is me ! If I," said he 
' ' Am you then who am I ? " 

" We each are you, you still are we," 
His old selves made reply. 

" Let plants not try to walk about ' ' 

The Royal Fern decreed, 
" For such attempts, as we 've found out 

To dire confusion lead." 



Sea=%avenfcer 

( ROSEMARY — SEA- SPRAY) 

JV A ANY a happy hour for me 

Here on the rocks at the end of the beach, 
With the sea's salt breath in my face and the 
sleet 
Of its spray, whose wind-fringed edges reach 
To this little plant at my feet. 
Ros-marinus, Spray of the Sea, 
I share the freshness of life with thee ! 

Many a restless hour will be 
In the sultry town ; let me garner the breath 
Of the brine, in plucking this herb — renew 
All the joy of the place that nourisheth 
Its mist-pale bloom in the soft sea -dew. 
Ros-marinus, Spray of the Sea, 
Be for remembrance, I pray, to me ! 



9i 



H XeGeno of tbe %cavc5 

A CHIEF whose life had failed in naught, 
Dying, of Manitou besought 

That, each twelfth moon, his tribe might come, 
Revisiting their ancient home, 

And through its forests roam at will. 
'T was thus decreed. And in the still 

Autumnal days, a noiseless throng 
Moveth, unseen, the woods among. 

And where the children pass, the low 
Glad bushes first are seen to glow, 

The while the squaws, who follow near, 
Have touched the sumac leaves to clear 

Red flame ; and youths and maidens brush 
The tender vines till straight they blush 

92 



H Xeaenfc ot tbe Xeaves 93 

With love's own hue ; and then, anon, 
A crowd of braves come pressing on 

And at their tread, like torches burn 
The maples ; but the oaks will turn 

To sombre beauty only when 

Their peers draw near — the aged men. 

Thus splendidly the forests glow 
With camp-fires lit to Manitou. 

And round the sky a low, soft haze 
Spreads, while we say ' ' The golden days 

Of Indian Summer fill the land, ' ' 
Nor that we say half understand. 



Ube Dosage of tbe Seeos 

YX 7 HITHER away under feathery sails, 

Fleet little airships, O whither away ? 
Now dreamily drifting, now skimming the gales, 

What is the port you are seeking alway ? 

And what is the cargo you bear to that harbour? 
Pray count me j^our treasure of bales. 

An anchorage secret and safe do we seek, 
And our gossamer sails shall be furled 

In earth's treasure caves ere the tempests grow 
bleak 
For we carry the hopes of a world, 

A fair world of summer, the bales that we number 
On each tiny keelson empearled. 



94 



/RMillein lowers 

f* OOD Mother Mullein's house is hung 

With warmest stuffs around ; 
Soft eider flannel clothes the walls, 
And woolly rugs abound. 

Her children in their nursery tower 
Are wrapped and swaddled deep 

In blankets, till their yellow heads 
Can scarce above them peep. 

And this in June and hot July ; 

No wonder in the fall 
The little Mulleins shake and cry 

And can't keep warm at all. 

And when their tower stands grim and bare 

Amid December's snow 
We know they 've gone to winter where 

The birds and sick folk go. 



95 




Winter 



'"THE flowers have left their withered stalks 
And snow-encompassed lie the walks 

That once we gayly shared. 
A few green shrubs that dot the snow, 
Some gaunt-stemmed berries still aglow, — 

Else lonely have I fared. 

Now must we seek in bower or hall, 
Or from some garnered spray recall 

The themes to grace our rhymes ; 
Or find, in walks of wider range, 
New friendships beautiful and strange 

With flowers of other climes. 



97 



H 



Bittersweet 

OW potent is this clustered fruit 
To cheer the days when life is mute 
And frosts lie hoary ! 



For, in the scarlet and the gold, 
The wealth of June we still behold, 
And autumn's glory; 

And round the withered berries cling 
Faint odours, breathing of the spring 
A subtle story. 



99 



Cyclamen 

''THE fairies were playing at shuttlecock 

In those plants by my window last night ; 
Up in the air the blossoms they knock, 
Up in the air a feathered flock, 
Crimson and rose and white. 

I could not see them, — they made no sound ; 

' ' Then how do I know they were there ? ' ' 
Because the dark spots on the leaves I have found, 
Where fairy feet scampered gayly around, 

And, see ! the flowers dance yet in air. 



TLvoo SLegenos of tbe ©ranoe Uvee 



\ 17 HEN, long ago, in Ida's grove 

Venus for beauty's prize contested, 
And from the lovely twain who strove 
With her the golden apple wrested, 

Well pleased, the goddess took the tree 
That bore such fruitage into favour, 

Breathed on it grace and symmetry, 
And gave it blooms of sweetest savour ; 

' ' Henceforth, at marriage feasts, ' ' she cried, 
" Where I, love's patron, sit presiding, 

The flowers that deck the happy bride 
Shall be, O tree, of thy providing. ' ' 



io2 xrwo Xegenos of tbe ©ranoe Uree 
ii 

Swiftly descending, 
Joyously bending earthward their flight, 
The Angel of Bridals' white pinions brushed softly 
A tree, as, low wending, 
They waved to alight. 
And straightway it burst into bloom, 
White, radiant ; with rarest perfume 
The glad air was laden ; 
The leaves of the tree shone with bliss. 
Said the angel, ' ' A garland of this 

Will I bear to the maiden 

Whose pure heart I visit to-night. 

Thou, tree, as thy blossoming blessed 

Be thy fruiting, rich, golden, complete, 
That both as a symbol be mete 
Of the blooming and fruitage of love 
Quickened thus from above. ' ' 
Then onward the bright herald pressed. 



fellow Jessamine 

f^ LOSE thronged palmettoes, live-oaks draped 

With waving veils of sad grey moss ; 
A tropic maze of things misshaped 
And shapes that show decay and loss. 
It saddens me, 
When suddenly 
A gleam of sunshine glints across. 

Only a slender thread of vine 

With clustered bells of yellow set, 
Yet where they twine, the palm and pine 
And tangled thicket their gloom forget ; 
And the place shall be 
In my memory 
The place where that fragrance of bloom I met. 

Some souls there are like the Jessamine flowers 
In the tangled maze of this life of ours. 



103 



XLbc ttymn of tbe palnVEree 

D ESTLESS the grace of the stately palm 
In these isles of the southern sea, 
For the winds of balm 

That are never at rest 
Shake ever the calm 
Of its feathery crest ; 
And the long plumes rustling ceaselessly, 
Whisper of ' ' mystery, mystery. ' ' 

Mystery brooding the centuries slow 
That builded these coral isles, 
Where the waters glow 

Through a sapphire range, 
And strange fruits grow 
From a leafage strange ; 
Mystery potent that life beguiles 
From the body of death with its age-long wiles. 
104 



Ube Ibsmn of tbe jpalm-ZTree io s 

Sparkles the sky and the gem-like sea 
And rises the column slim 
Of the crested tree ; 

And the grace of it all 
And the mystery 

Holds my spirit in thrall. 
And I grope for a voice in the rustling dim 
Of the wind-stirred palm leaves ; and this their 
hymn : 



THE HYMN 

" Toilers obscure 

Refuse not their task ; 
Obedience sure, 
Unwitting its goal, 

Kssays not to ask ; 
They build to endure 
On the sites of the sea, 
Then die patiently 
With none to extol. 



K* Ube Ihpmn of tbe palm*tEcee 

Cycles — a day 
In God's plans — pass away, 
Lo, beauty the crown of the whole ! 
I, the Palm, 
Sing the psalm 

Of the creatures who made me 
And beauty to be ; 
Thou, man, take their faith to thy soul ! " 



T 



California fl>opptes 

IS the time of the poppies ; 
The fields are aflame ; 
And looking down 
From the mountain crown 
The way whence we came, 
At the canon's mouth lie acres unrolled, 
Glowing and gleaming with molten gold. 

No clouds to pale them, 

No rain to dim 
The velvety gloss 
Of each cup's emboss, 
Perfect from rim to rim ; 
'T is a sun-blessed land that riots in bloom, 
Shadowless, fearless of storm or gloom. 

They tell of a tourney 
Of pomp and pride, 

107 



108 California poppies 

Of the furnishings 

Of a field where kings 
Splendidly vied; 
But what could rival in days of old 
This Field resplendent of Cloth of Gold ? 

The far-off shining 

Of wealth like this, 
Was it that lured 
Men hither, assured 
Of treasure ? I wis 
'T were a goodly store, could their delving yield 
A tithe of the riches of this fair field. 



Babp JSlue JEyes 

f~XUT of the sand and the sun glare 
Into some shaded nook, — 
The fern-draped aisle of a canon, 
The sheltered ways of a brook, — 
And straightway, as lonely thus long without me, 
The Baby Blue Byes come crowding about me. 

Deep as the sombre sapphire, 

Pale as the azure skies, 
Of a varying hue, but clear and true, 
Is the gaze of those innocent eyes ; 
And well might the bosom some wrong concealing 
Turn with a pang from their soft appealing. 

Thronging the steps of the stranger, 

Blossoms with eyes that bless, 
I stoop to your tender greeting 
As though to a child's caress ; 
And your weak little stem to my fondling lingers 
With the clinging clasp of a baby's fingers. 
109 



•foolly 

Y\7 HEN the fairy elves and the fairy queen 

Polish the holly and give to its green 
The gloss and the glow of a Christmas sheen 
Its prickles do prick them sorely. 

But they weep not their wounds, they laugh in- 
stead, 
For the drops of the fairy blood they shed 
Are changed into berries round and red, 
To brighten the holly's glory. 



Gberoftee 1Rose 

r\H, the rose that blooms at Christmas ! 

Have you seen its petals fair — 
Pure as heart of Mary Mother, 

Pure as maid or babe might wear ? 
Only lands that liken Edeus 

May its tender grace sustain ; 
Only lie its fragrant snowdrifts 

Where the snow has never lain. 

Happy rose that blooms at Christmas — 

At the season when on earth, 
Human hopes and aspirations 

Have a new and holy birth ! 
Oh, that these too might no frost-time 

For their pure unfolding know, 
But in hearts kept warm and faithful 

To a perfect beauty grow ! 



/BMstletoe 

A SONG of the Mistletoe, oh, ho, ho ! 

Come hither, my lads and my lasses, 
And hang me aloft where the lights are aglow 
And the tides of the music and merriment flow ; 
There 's a toll from the first one who passes below, 
From the lips of the first one who passes. 

A song of the Mistletoe, oh, ho, ho ! 

'T is a plant that is olden in story : 
I decked for the Druid his victim's last throe, 
To Baldur a death-shaft I sped from the bow, 
Not a tribute that 's mine am I wont to forego ; 

Behold me, the Mistletoe hoary ! 

A song of the Mistletoe, oh, ho, ho ! 

Comes Yule-tide, then / am the master ; 
'T is a kiss from each lass, and the lads are not slow 
To gather my tithings for me, oh, no, no ! 
So what recks the night and the thick falling 
snow — 

We '11 feast, and we '11 frolic the faster ! 

112 



Everlasting 

A FLOWER of pearl, it knows not change, 

But, plucked from off its native hill, 
Where sunlight bathes and breezes range, 
And thrown on places parched and strange, 
Its life and fragrance linger still. 

Thus dauntless, too, its kinsfolk are, 

That spring from out the snows and gloom 
Of highest Alps ; frosts cannot mar 
The ' ' noble whiteness ' ' of their star 
Nor check its constancy of bloom. 

And when " What image will you bring," 

My friend to me in challenge saith, 
" To liken to this deathless thing 
That heeds no winter, needs no spring ? " 
I make reply, " It likens Faith." 



113 



postlufce 

MOW thanks to you, my comrade flowers, 

For all the joyance you have brought me, 
For all the lessons you have taught me, 
Through long and happy hours 
Of this blithe year. 

My love for you has wrought these verses, 
Whose vagrant course our way rehearses, 
As we have walked and talked together 
In fair or sombre weather 

And found good cheer. 

And somewhat in my heart presages, 
Since your bright names adorn these pages, 
However slight their further aim, 
They needs must gentle usance claim, 
Nor worthless quite appear. 



115 



JUN 7 1909 



liSiiK congress 

015 988 949 A t 



